Madonna Banned from Movie-Theater Chain Until She Apologizes for Reportedly Texting Through Twelve Years a Slave

Last week, the New York Postreported that Madonna was guilty of a film-going faux pas on par with theSeinfeld-ian crime of making out during Schindler’s List. While at the New York Film Festival premiere of Steve McQueen’s devastating period drama 12 Years a Slave, the pop singer allegedly texted on her BlackBerry throughout the first half of the film, which is already being called next year’s Oscar frontrunner. When a fellow audience member reportedly asked Madonna to put her phone away, the singer is said to have icily responded, “It’s for business . . . enslaver!”

In response to the gossip item, the C.E.O. of a Texas-based movie-theater chain, Alamo Drafthouse, has taken to Twitter to ban Madonna from frequenting his venues “until [she] apologizes to fans.” Although his remark was off-the-cuff and “more of a means to get the issue out there, that it is rude to text during movies,” Tim League tells*Entertainment Weekly* that he will now enforce his no-Madonna policy since his Tweet has picked up Internet traction. In a more conciliatory aside, he adds that “I don’t think [the ban] really affects her life that much.”

Founded in 1997, the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain enforces strict etiquette policies at its nine locations. Among the rules: children under the age of six are not allowed inside and any audience member who talks or texts during screenings will be ejected without refund. In 2011, the theater made headlines by incorporating the angry voicemail of one such ejected customer in its no-texting P.S.A., which was shown before the theater’s R-rated movies at the time.